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Canadians won't see the likes of Nobel Prize-wining Canadian author Alice Munro on their banknotes anytime soon.

Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz conceded Tuesday before the House of Commons finance committee it could be years before the image of a woman re-appears on Canada's legal tender.

Women — except for the Queen — were stripped from banknotes during the $20-million design and consultation process for the new bills, which were released in 2011. The $50 bill used to feature the "Famous Five" women who fought to have women deemed "persons" under the law.

"It is what it is today. We are engaged as you know, in thinking about the next series, which is a multi-year project, and we're open to all suggestions from all Canadians," Poloz said.

An online petition calling for women to be included on new currency has 22,000 signatures.

Poloz's predecessor, Mark Carney, scored political correctness points a week after taking over as Britain's central banker by acceding to a similar campaign in the U.K. He promised author Jane Austen would appear on new British currency.

Poloz also updated MPs Tuesday on the latest economic outlook from Canada's central bank, released last week.

Global financial fragility is acting as a drag on Canadian exports and business investment, but Poloz said he nonetheless expects slow, but real, growth in Canada's economy in the coming years.

He predicted real GDP growth for 2013 to be 1.6% and to rise to 2.3% next year.

"The bank expects that the economy will return gradually to full production capacity around the end of 2015," Poloz said.